And I Feel Fine...: The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987

Performer: R.E.M.
Producer: Mitch Easter; Don Dixon; Scott Litt; Don Gehman; Joe Boyd
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: R.E.M.: Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Peter Buck, Bill Berry. A compilation ideal for those who have worn out their copies of EPONYMOUS, 2006's AND I FEEL FINE surveys R.E.M.'s lauded 1980s output for the I.R.S. label, going into far greater depth than the former disc. In fact, this 2006 collection presents album versions of almost every song on EPONYMOUS, and bolsters the track listing to 21 classic tunes, from the spare, chiming "Radio Free Europe" to the rustic, melancholy "Cuyahoga" to the surging college-rock anthem "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)." Charting a non-chronological course through the band's early years--when Michael Stipe and company gradually began branching out from their earnest post-punk sound--the set serves to highlight the cohesiveness of R.E.M.'s vision, an aesthetic that made the group one of the most respected and beloved rock acts of the '80s and '90s. Note: The collectors' edition presents a bonus disc of rarities, including previously unreleased and live tracks.

Spin (p.104) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[The collection] has all the great early singles and album tracks that highlight their moody allure." Uncut (p.123) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]hese early songs retain their strangeness....One of those rare groups that seems to be the product of four distinct intelligences..."

This Athens band's initial mix of Velvet Underground strum, Byrds-like Rickenbacker jangle, and charismatically oblique singing, became the sound of the 1980s as legions of bands followed suit. But even as imitators codified R.E.M.'s approach into the money-making "alternative rock" sound, the group refused to stand still, constantly changing and developing without ever abandoning their underground principles. Somehow they became superstars along the way, but it's never affected their commitment to their music. In 1997, drummer Bill Berry left the band, but Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, and Mike Mills soldiered on in his absence.

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